Of course the detour forgot to mention that semi trucks would not be allowed to travel on 20, causing a huge backup of trucks onto 49. I was traveling mid-day so it only took me an extra 1 1/2 - 2 hours to reach the Gap. (For Jim, Katie, Jeremy, Jodie and kids - the ride was very, very long - 5 extra hours). Jeremy and Jodie finally gave up and spent the night in Roseville. Jim and Katie persevered and arrived at the Gap around 1 a.m.!
When I reached I-80 above the slide, the westbound freeway entrance was closed. I went eastbound for 1 exit, turned around and headed west. When I reached the 20 exit, 80 was coned off - but there were a bunch of Cal Trans guys there and I requested permission to pass through - advising them I was at a lodge at Emigrant Gap. Once they checked my address, I flew down an empty freeway for about 3 miles. It was SOOOO QUIET!!! No cars on the freeway at all.
Once I got to the lodge, I noticed that the rolled shingles on the snow shed had ripped and slid off the roof. An opportunity for repair but nothing that major since the snow room is not done yet and is currently just an access portal into the lodge when the snow gets high.
Then the big surprise. When I entered the lodge and went into the dining room, I was greeted by the following (see picture). Actually this photo was taken about 2 hours after starting the clean-up, so the mess was quite a bit messier.
Apparently, when the snow on the roof got hit by the immense rainstorm, an ice block must have blocked the run off near our PGE tie down/roof diverter, causing the ceiling to collapse and an indoor flood in the dining room. Not too bad of repair (drywall) - but the old blown in insulation from the attic had blown everywhere! And it was wet. The oak veneer floor in the dining room was so saturated, I am afraid it is a total loss (already buckling). So onto plan B - I probably will tear out the oak veneer floor to see if the original floor (douglas fir tongue and groove) is restorable. If so, I will refinish the dining room for now. Then at a later date pull the rest of the pergo flooring in the living room and refinish the remainder of the front rooms - which will then match the vintage Doug Fir floors in the kitchen, hallway and bedrooms on the main floor.
I cleaned up most of the mess while waiting for Jim and Katie to arrive. Then started a fired in the cast iron stove to heat up the front rooms of the lodge (which usually takes about 6 hours). Since the ceiling was wide open over the dining table, the front did not warm up very well. The next morning Jim (mostly) and I (somewhat) added plastic sheeting to the big hole with the plan of drywalling later.
We had hoped to go skiing at Sugar Bowl on Saturday, but apparently everyone else in Northern California thought the same, took the bypass on 20 and Sugar Bowl parking was full by 10 am. Jeremy and Jodie arrived from Roseville at 9:30, so we had a nice breakfast and the gang headed out to the back property to sled. Unfortunately, the snow was so iced over - sledding was too fast for the kids - so we just all hung out in the backyard for a while, then headed over to the game room to play foosball and air hockey.
Saturday afternoon, the kids, Katie and I went for a ride up to Hampshire Rocks to see the gushing water on the Yuba. It was pretty intense - but not too bad. Then rode over to Lake Valley to see how far the road had been plowed to the lake. Unfortunately, the there were cars parked along the 1 lane road, so there was no turn around. I got an opportunity to practice my backing up skills for a few miles. No worries - my old UPS drive training did me well.
Dinner was at the Monte Vista (a local favorite) to celebrate Jodie's promotion at work. Then the next morning Jer and Jodie loaded up the kids and headed home. Jim cut out some of the drywall to prepare for putting up new sheets and Katie and I worked on putting away the sleds.
All in all, with all the little mishaps over the weekend, we still managed to have a great visit, a nice dinner and some sunshine in the high sierra.
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